Overseaming attachment for sewing-machines.



No. 708,824 Patented Sept. 9, I902.

J. c. moose.

UVERSEAMING ATTACHMENT FOB SEWING MACHINES.

(Application filed Aug. 23, 1901.\

(No Model.)

- WITNESSES PATENT OFFI E;

JEHU O. MOORE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

OVERSEAMING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 708,824, dated September 9, 1902.

Application filed August 23, 19Q1. $erial No. 73,079. (No model-l To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEHU O. MOORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at 394: East Eighteenth street, Brooklyn, New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sewing-machines, and has for its object the provision of means whereby blindstitching may be performed.

In order to prepare the fabric for the operation of blindstitching by the means which I provide, the edge of the fabric which it is desired to sew down on one face of the fabric in such a manner that the stitches do not appear on the other side is folded over, and the portion of the fabric which thus becomes double is folded backward in such a manner that the folded edge thus formed is in close proximity to the free edge of the fabric. The edge of the fabric which is presented to the needle thus consists of a folded edge and a free edge,

. the latter of which preferably projects a short distance in front of the folded edge, as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, hereinafter described. In the operation of the blindstitching at every alternate stitch the needle passes through the folded edge of the fabric without passing from one surface of the fabric to the other, but passing merelyv through the substance of the fabric, so that no stitches appear on the side of the fabric opposite to that on which the folded free edge'is folded down.

It is consequently necessary to cause the foldwith regard to the path of the needle the folded edge may be adjusted to take up such a position according to its thickness that the blind stitches will be properly formed. The means for causing the folded edge to take up its proper position for the blind stitch may take the form of a guide serving as an abutment or stop, up to which the folded edge is moved just before a blind stitch is to be formed and against which it remains during the formation of theblind stitch. Any suit able means may be provided for adjusting the position of this stop or abutment withregard to the base-plate of the attachment, so that according as the goods are thick or thin said abutment or stop may beset farther from or nearer to the path of the needle without altering the adjustment of the attachment on the bed-plate of the sewing-machine.

My invention may be applied to such attachments for sewing-machines as are described-in the specification accompanying the applications for United States'Patents, Serial Nos. 70,876 and 72,606, filed on the 5th of August, 1901, and on the 19th of August, 1901, respectively, and as applied to such attachments my invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawingsfin which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the attachment and of the presser-foot of the sewing-machine to which the attachment is fixed. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the attachment. Fig. 3 is a plan of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the parts of theattachment and of the fabric adjacent to the needle during the formation of a blind stitch. Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. 4:, showing the relative position of the parts during the formation of an overedge-stitch.

The means which'are illustrated as provided for causing the folded edge of the fabric to take up a definite position with regard to the needle during the formation of the blind stitch are shown in the form of a bent metallic plate or guide 1, pivoted at 2 to the base 3 of the attachment, which is adapted to be fastened to the bed-plate of the sewingmachine by a screw passing through the hole or slot 4, provided in said base. The plate 1 is spring-pressed by means of the spring 5, which may conveniently be attached at one end to the pivot 2 and bear at the other and against a pin 6, provided on the upper surface of the plate. As shown in the drawings,

the plate 1, against which the outer surface of the folded edge of the fabric bears, consists of a horizontal portion fixed parallel to e") la the upper surface of the base of the attachment or to the bed-plate of the sewing-machine and of a vertical portion, the plane of the greater part of which lies parallel to the plane of the front edge of the attachment, and of a vertical portion lying parallel to the vertical front edge of said base. This vertical portion is preferably bent outward at its ends 7 nearest to the needle, this projection forming the abutment or stop which is adapted to determine the position of the folded edge of the fabric during the formation of the blind stitch. The exact position of the abutment or stop formed by the projecting end 7 of the plate 1 can be adjusted by means of the set-screw or stop 8, provided with an eccentric head which is adapted to bear against the plate 1. WVhen a given fabric is to be sewed, the plate 1 is adjusted in such a position that the folded edge of the fabric will be split by the needle on its descent during the formation of a blind stitch without the needle passing from one surface of the fabric to the other.

The operation of the attachment illustrated is as follows; The extension-bar 10, which is attached to the horizontal arm of the springpressed angle-lever 9, is struck by any suitable projection on the needle-bar 11-for instance, by the screw 12 for securing the needle to the needle-bar. The angle-lever 9 operates the ratchet-wheel 13 by means of the pawl 14, and said ratchet-wheel is provided with a triangular cam 15, which actuates the spring-pressed pusher 16 in such a manner that at alternate stitches the folded edge of the fabric is pushed out of the path of the needle by said pusher, the presser-foot carrier 17 being provided with a recess 18, into which the recessed sliding presser-foot 19 projects.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the action of the bent plate forming the guide and stop for the folded edge of the fabric. In these figures the line of travel of the needle-point is indicated by the line I-lI. It will be seen from Fig. 4 that that portion of the bent plate the position of which determines the position of the folded edge underneath the needle is in such a position that the line III passes midway between the outer and inner surfaces of the fabric at the folded edge-that is to say, the needle would pass into and out of the fabric without passing entirely through the fabric from one surface to the other. If a thicker fabric than that shown in Fig. t were to be sewed, the portion of the bent plate shown in Fig. 4 would be adjusted so as to allow the folded edge to approach nearer to the edge of the attachment-thatis,to the right in Fig. 4- whereas if the fabric were thinner than that shown the abutment formed by the plate 1 would be moved away from the edge of the base of the attachment and nearer to the line of action of the needle. Preferably in the case ofany fabric the abutment orstop formed by the plate 1 would be adjusted in such a position that the line of travel of the point of the needle would bisect the thickness of the fabric at the folded edge. In Fig. 5 the pusher is shown in its outermost position, and in this case it will be noticed that the pusher has turned the free edge 20 upward against the inner surface of the vertical portion of the plate 1. This causes said plate to move slightly outward away from the screw 8, whereby the folded edge 21 is also moved slightly outward. The automatic action of the said guide admit-s of the cloth passing freely along the face of the pusher. Thick cloth may force the guide out to a small extent, so that after the needle has made an over edge-stitch the guide will press the cloth back again. The distance to which the free edge 20 is moved by the pusher 16 is preferably such that the thread carried by the needle will rub against this free edge, so that on the ascent of the needle the loop necessary for the formation of the lock stitch will be formed. When the pusher 16 returns intoits recess, the sliding plate 19 will aid the resilience of the fabric to return the folded edge and the free edge to their positions as shown in Fig. 4, the plate 1 also returning to its original position, resting against the eccentric head 8. It is not necessary that the plate 1 should be moved away from the screw 8 when the pusher is pushed outward, as the pusher will itself move the folded edge 2] out of the path of the needle and away from the abutment or guide 7 if the sliding plate does not move outward with the turned-up edge 20. On the return of the pusher into its recess the folded edge will return to the proper position, determined by the abutment 7, for formation of the blind stitch.

It is to be clearly understood that I do not limit myself to the particular means as described with reference to the drawings for determining the position of the folded edge of the fabric for the formation of a blind stitch.

Any other suitable form of adjustable guide mounted on the base-plate, providing a stop in proximity to the path of the needle, against which stop the outer surface of the folded edge of the fabric normally bears, may be employed.

What I claim is 1. In a blindstitching sewing-machine attachment, the combination of a base-plate adapted to be attached to a sewing-machine,

a member movably mounted on the base-plate, means connected with said member and adapted to be operated by engagement with a reciprocating part of the sewing-machine to actuate said member to move the fabric being sewed out of the path of the needle for the formation of an overedge-stitch, and an adjustable spring-pressed guide mounted in proximity to the base-plate and forming a stop in proximity to the path of the needle, against which stop the outer surface of the folded edge of the fabric bears when the fabric has returned into the path of the needle for the formation of-a blind stitch, and an adjustable stop against which the springpressed guide is adapted normally to bear and by which the normal position of said guide can be adjusted.

2. In a blindstitching sewing-machine attachment, the combination of a base-plate adapted to be attached toa sewing-machine, a member movably mounted on the base-plate, means connected with said member and adapted to be operated by engagement with a reciprocating part of the sewing-machine to actuate said member to move the fabric being sewed out of the path of the needle for the formation of an overedge-stitch, and a guide adjustably mounted inproximity to the baseplate, said guide being in the form of a bent metallic plate having the plane of the greater part of one portion parallel to and at a short distance from the plane of the front edge of the attachment along which the fabric is fed and the plane of the other portion parallel to the bed-plate of the sewing-machine, the for- Y mer portion having a projection in close proX- imity' to the path of the needle so as to form a stop, against which the outer surface of the folded edge of the fabric bears when the fabric has returned into the path of the needle for the formation of a blind stitch.

3. In a blindstitching sewing-machine attachment, the combination of a base-plate adapted to be attached to a sewing-machine, a member movably mounted on the baseplate, means connectedwith said member and adapted to be operated by engagement with a reciprocating part of the sewing-machine to actuate said member to move the fabric being sewed out of the path of the needle for the formation of an overedge-stitch, and a guide adjustably mounted in proximity to the base-plate, said guide being in the form of a bent spring-pressed pivoted metal- 1 lie plate having the plane of the greater part of one portion parallel to and at a short distance from the plane of the front edge of the attachment along which the fabric is fed and the plane of the other portion parallel to tho bed-plate of the sewing-machine, the former portion having a projection in close proximity to the pathof the needle so as to form a stop, against which the outer surface of the folded edge of the fabric bears when the fabric has returned into the path of the needle for the formation of a blind stitch, and an adjustable stop against which the springpressed plate is adapted normally to bear and by which the normal position of the said plate can be adjusted. A

4. In a blindstitching, sewing-machine attachment, the combination of a base-plate adapted to be attached to a sewingmachine, a member movably mounted on the base-plate, means connected with said member and adapted to be operated by engagement with a reciprocating part of the sewing-machine to actuate said member to move the fabric being sewed out of the path of the needle for the formation of an overedge-stitch, and a guide adjustably mounted in proximity to the base-plate, said guide being in the form of a bent metallic plate 1 having the plane of the greater part of one portion parallel to and at a short distance from the plane of the front edge of the attachment along which the fabric is fed and the plane of the other portion parallel to the bed-plate of the sewingmachine, the former portion having a projection 7 in close proximity to the path of the needle so as to form a stop, against which the outer surface of the folded edge of the fabric bears when the fabric has returned into the path of the needle for the formation of a blind stitch, and an adjustable eccentric stop 8 against which the spring-pressed plate 1 is adapted normally to bear and by' which the normal position of said guide can be adjusted.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JEHU O. MOORE.

Witnesses:

CLEMENT LEAN, FRED G. HARRIS. 

